worker's rights

The Right’s war on worker's rights is serious business, but this is just absurd. Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has ordered a mural depicting the state’s labor history removed from the lobby of the state Department of Labor. The governor’s spokesman claims that the removal, meant to appease unnamed members of the business community, is just an effort to “achieve a little aesthetic balance”:

According to LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt, the administration felt the mural and the conference room monikers showed "one-sided decor" not in keeping with the department's pro-business goals.

"The message from state agencies needs to be balanced," said Demeritt, adding that the mural had sparked complaints from "some business owners" who complained it was hostile to business.

Demeritt declined to name the businesses.

The mural was erected in 2008 following a jury selection by the Maine Arts Commission and a $60,000 federal grant. Judy Taylor, the artist from Seal Cove, said Tuesday that her piece was never meant to be political, simply a depiction of Maine's labor history.

The 11-panel piece depicts several moments, including the 1937 shoe mill strike in Auburn and Lewiston, "Rosie the Riveter" at Bath Iron Works, and the paper mill workers' strike of 1986 in Jay.